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197
The newspapers and Democratic
Party leaders kept abreast of the events in
Washington in order to prepare for the
possibility of federal intervention. Two
days after the riot it was reported that the
president had consulted with his attorney
general and cabinet on the matter but that “ it
was too late to interfere” since, as far as they
knew, all was quiet. The president and his
advisors stressed that the troops would be
called out only if hostilities in the city or
state began anew. Compounding the
situation was the fact that hostilities had also
broken out in neighboring South Carolina.
Some speculated that the two unsettled
areas, when taken together, could in time
warrant federal intervention. 11
11 The Democratic campaign was successful in
stirring violent racist sentiment throughout the state.
Cities such as New Bern and Wilson expected
violence at any moment, and expressed anxiety
similar to the fears that gripped Wilmingtonians. On
the night of November 9, a riot almost broke out in
Wilson. Only after a biracial meeting on the tenth
and the outbreak in Wilmington was violence
averted. Prior to the election, there was a violent
outbreak in the Lumberton area. Called the Ashpole
Riot in the Kinston Daily Free Press, the violence
was contained to late October. Violence broke out
before election day in Phoenix, in Greenwood
County, South Carolina. On November 6, 1898, four
black men were lynched by about 100 white men
after they were implicated in killing a white man the
previous day. Further news of the violence in South
Carolina reported that about ten black men and one
white were killed outright, and many of both races
were wounded on election day. A number of whites
fled the area and made their way to Washington,
D. C., to plead their case with the president.
Regarding the unrest, the New York Journal indicated
that the “ race problem in the South has cast a shadow
over the entire land by the recent bloodshed in the
Carolinas.” Therefore, as advocates for federal
intervention in Wilmington sought to thrust the city’s
violence into the national spotlight, the murders in
South Carolina were added to the discussions. Thus,
the response was diffused as the two incidents grew
to be seen as examples of a larger, endemic problem
of racial friction. New York Journal as quoted in the
Farmer and Mechanic
Federal troops were, in fact, moved
from nearby Fort Caswell into the city, but,
by the time they arrived, relative calm was
re- established through martial law, and the
new city leaders were working to encourage
peace. Those federal troops saw more
trouble later in the month when about 30
black workers who were working on the fort
got into a “ row” with several soldiers
stationed there. The resulting fight ended
with a stabbing of one soldier. Other
soldiers tried to retaliate against the workers,
and a guard detail had to be established to
protect the black men. 12 Some speculation
has arisen that the president failed to step in
because the recent victorious end of the
Spanish- American War had engendered
national unity and patriotic fervor, North
and South, which many did not want to
upset. 13 Some southerners contended that
( Raleigh), November 29, 1898; Farmer and
Mechanic ( Raleigh), November 15, 1898; News and
Observer ( Raleigh), November 11, 12, 1898; Evening
Dispatch ( Wilmington), November 12, 1898;
Morning Star ( Wilmington), November 10, 11, 18,
1898; Morning Post ( Raleigh), November 13, 1898;
Daily Free Press ( Kinston), October 24, 1898.
12 Hayden, WLI, 98; Morning Star ( Wilmington),
November 28, 1898.
13 An example of the new bond between the North
and South was a speech given by President McKinley
in Atlanta as part of a “ peace jubilee.” McKinley said
that “ sectional lines no longer mar the map of the
United States” and that “ the cordial feeling now
happily existing between the North and the South”
would be helpful if the two sections faced “ new
problems now pressing upon us” together. Some
African Americans took exception to the speech,
particularly since McKinley held an
“ incomprehensible silence” on the issue when he did
not acknowledge the “ race problem” in the South and
the recent violence. Former North Carolina
Republican Reconstruction politician Albion Tourgee
wrote McKinley that he feared the violence heralded
the opening of a new chapter in race relations in
which blacks were “ again placed under the heel of
race prejudice in the United States. ” Tourgee saw a
larger sweeping national movement tied to the
Spanish- American War that enabled national leaders
to ignore southern blacks and leave them to the
devices of southern whites. An example of northern

197
The newspapers and Democratic
Party leaders kept abreast of the events in
Washington in order to prepare for the
possibility of federal intervention. Two
days after the riot it was reported that the
president had consulted with his attorney
general and cabinet on the matter but that “ it
was too late to interfere” since, as far as they
knew, all was quiet. The president and his
advisors stressed that the troops would be
called out only if hostilities in the city or
state began anew. Compounding the
situation was the fact that hostilities had also
broken out in neighboring South Carolina.
Some speculated that the two unsettled
areas, when taken together, could in time
warrant federal intervention. 11
11 The Democratic campaign was successful in
stirring violent racist sentiment throughout the state.
Cities such as New Bern and Wilson expected
violence at any moment, and expressed anxiety
similar to the fears that gripped Wilmingtonians. On
the night of November 9, a riot almost broke out in
Wilson. Only after a biracial meeting on the tenth
and the outbreak in Wilmington was violence
averted. Prior to the election, there was a violent
outbreak in the Lumberton area. Called the Ashpole
Riot in the Kinston Daily Free Press, the violence
was contained to late October. Violence broke out
before election day in Phoenix, in Greenwood
County, South Carolina. On November 6, 1898, four
black men were lynched by about 100 white men
after they were implicated in killing a white man the
previous day. Further news of the violence in South
Carolina reported that about ten black men and one
white were killed outright, and many of both races
were wounded on election day. A number of whites
fled the area and made their way to Washington,
D. C., to plead their case with the president.
Regarding the unrest, the New York Journal indicated
that the “ race problem in the South has cast a shadow
over the entire land by the recent bloodshed in the
Carolinas.” Therefore, as advocates for federal
intervention in Wilmington sought to thrust the city’s
violence into the national spotlight, the murders in
South Carolina were added to the discussions. Thus,
the response was diffused as the two incidents grew
to be seen as examples of a larger, endemic problem
of racial friction. New York Journal as quoted in the
Farmer and Mechanic
Federal troops were, in fact, moved
from nearby Fort Caswell into the city, but,
by the time they arrived, relative calm was
re- established through martial law, and the
new city leaders were working to encourage
peace. Those federal troops saw more
trouble later in the month when about 30
black workers who were working on the fort
got into a “ row” with several soldiers
stationed there. The resulting fight ended
with a stabbing of one soldier. Other
soldiers tried to retaliate against the workers,
and a guard detail had to be established to
protect the black men. 12 Some speculation
has arisen that the president failed to step in
because the recent victorious end of the
Spanish- American War had engendered
national unity and patriotic fervor, North
and South, which many did not want to
upset. 13 Some southerners contended that
( Raleigh), November 29, 1898; Farmer and
Mechanic ( Raleigh), November 15, 1898; News and
Observer ( Raleigh), November 11, 12, 1898; Evening
Dispatch ( Wilmington), November 12, 1898;
Morning Star ( Wilmington), November 10, 11, 18,
1898; Morning Post ( Raleigh), November 13, 1898;
Daily Free Press ( Kinston), October 24, 1898.
12 Hayden, WLI, 98; Morning Star ( Wilmington),
November 28, 1898.
13 An example of the new bond between the North
and South was a speech given by President McKinley
in Atlanta as part of a “ peace jubilee.” McKinley said
that “ sectional lines no longer mar the map of the
United States” and that “ the cordial feeling now
happily existing between the North and the South”
would be helpful if the two sections faced “ new
problems now pressing upon us” together. Some
African Americans took exception to the speech,
particularly since McKinley held an
“ incomprehensible silence” on the issue when he did
not acknowledge the “ race problem” in the South and
the recent violence. Former North Carolina
Republican Reconstruction politician Albion Tourgee
wrote McKinley that he feared the violence heralded
the opening of a new chapter in race relations in
which blacks were “ again placed under the heel of
race prejudice in the United States. ” Tourgee saw a
larger sweeping national movement tied to the
Spanish- American War that enabled national leaders
to ignore southern blacks and leave them to the
devices of southern whites. An example of northern